April & Andy
by Lola99
Summary: What will most likely end up being a series of one-shots involving Kiliane Shepard & James Vega's twins, April & Anderson. Because let's face it, any child with these two for parents is going to get involved all sorts of adventures. Marked complete, but I will definitely be adding to it in the future.
1. A Walk in the Park

**I needed to write this morning, but nothing was coming for **_**Shades of Red,**_** so I decided to revisit James and Kiliane. :) I've been toying with the idea of a series of one-shots revolving around their twins, April & Andy. **

**Good idea? Or terrible idea? **

* * *

><p>"April, no!"<p>

Time seemed to still as James watched his three-year-old daughter climb up the jungle gym. She was on the complete opposite side from where he was helping her twin brother, Andy, cross the monkey bars. Quickly lowering Andy to the ground, he made a dash for April. Meanwhile, her little arms had gotten tired of holding her up, and she just let go.

"Dios, por favor!"

James said a short prayer as dove into the sand, catching her just before she hit the ground. When his heart had finally stopped thundering in his ears, he was rewarded with the sound of his daughter giggling.

"Daddy, that was fun! Again?"

He just hugged her tight, letting his head drop into the sand as he said, "You are going to be the death of me, little fiend. And you are most definitely your mother's daughter."

She just giggled again, climbed off of him and tottled towards the rocking caterpillar in the corner of the playground. Since that was much more her size, he allowed himself to relax. Until two seconds later when he remembered that he'd left Andy sitting in the sand on the other side of the equipment.

With a groan, he got up and dusted himself off. James would have liked to have said that he was surprised when he rounded the corner and saw nothing but sand where his son had previously been sitting. But that would have been a lie.

"Andy?"

He spun in a circle, watching and listening, but couldn't figure out where his son had gotten off to now. There was a small wooded area bordering the northern side of the playground, and if he had to guess, that's where Andy had disappeared to in the two seconds he'd taken his eye off of him.

Grabbing April first, so as not to lose her too, he headed towards the woods, calling his son's name.

* * *

><p>Kiliane let herself into their apartment as quietly as she could. It was late, and she was sure the twins would be sleeping by now. With a small grin, she wondered how James had managed wrangling them into bed by himself.<p>

She'd just had a wonderful, and long-overdue, girls night out. Liara had flown in to visit, and Miranda had joined them for dinner, drinks and dancing. It had been loads of fun, and exactly what she'd needed. But it was the first time James had been alone with the twins for any extended period of time. With him being away for work so often, any time they spent out of the house when he was home was usually together.

The house was quiet, and most of the lights were off. She made her way down the hall, pausing at the door to the twins' room to look at their small sleeping forms, before continuing to her and James' bedroom. When she opened the door, she had to fight back a laugh.

Her husband was sprawled out on his belly, fully clothed and on top of the covers, snoring loudly.

She crawled in next to him, placing a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. He blinked a couple of times as he slowly woke up and then smiled.

"Hey, Lola. Have fun?"

"I did. Did you?"

He reached an arm out and pulled her closer before answering.

"Yeah. I've decided that you're my hero, though. I mean, you kinda always were, but even more so now."

"Did they wear you out?"

"More than an entire warehouse full of pirates." Kiliane laughed, and he continued. "Seriously, Lola. I don't know how you do it while I'm away. It's pretty impressive."

She kissed him softly before she said, "It's true. I wouldn't' trade them for the world, but saving the galaxy was a walk in the park compared to raising those two."

Kiliane was left confused as James winced before saying, "No more walks in the park. At least not for the next ten years or so."

She thought only briefly before deciding it was better not to even ask. Instead, she just snuggled in closer, enjoying the feeling of his arms around her.


	2. Wind of Change

**Another April & Andy one-shot. This started as a drabble request for fluffy bunnies on tumblr and turned into so much more. I really can't seem to stop myself when it comes to Kiliane, James, or their babies. :)**

**P.S. Given James' fondness for rock ballads, I decided to use one for the title. ;-)**

* * *

><p>James sat in his cabin on the Normandy, going over reports when his omni-tool pinged with an incoming message. He smiled when he saw who it was from.<p>

Pulling up the video, he said, "Hey, Lola."

"Hey yourself. How's your mission going? I didn't catch you at a bad time, did I?"

"Not at all. We just wrapped up here, and I was going over report before I sent it in. How's everything going at home?"

"Good, really good."

His wife's answering smile caused a mix of emotions for him. It had been happening more and more lately. While he used to be filled with pure joy when talking to her or the kids, now there was something else there. Something not quite as pleasant, and something he wasn't sure he was ready to deal with.

"James, are you okay?"

He realized he must have missed something she had said when he looked at her concerned expression.

Shaking off what he'd been feeling, he said, "Fine. Just a little tired is all. Glad to be on my way home finally."

"Me too. April wanted to talk to you, but if now's not a good time…"

"No, it's fine. Put her on."

Kiliane's face disappeared, but he could still hear her voice in the background.

"April? April, Daddy's on the com if you want to tell him your news. Make it quick though, sweetie. He's tired and needs to go night-night."

"Okay." James watched as his soon-to-be five-year-old daughter's face popped up on the screen. She smiled and waved at him. "Hi, Daddy!"

"Hiya, little fiend. How are things going on the homefront?"

"Good. Guess what?"

"Monkey butt!"

April giggled and then said, "No! You're silly, Daddy."

He grinned. "I know. So, what did you want to tell me?"

"I'll show you!" With that, she opened her mouth and pointed at the space where her front tooth used to be. "I wot a too."

"I see that. Wow, lost your first tooth. You're not such a little fiend anymore, are you?"

She grinned back at him. "Nope, I'm a big girl now."

That unnamed feeling returned with a vengeance, but he pushed it down and focused on his daughter.

"Yeah, you are. So, did you put it under your pillow for the tooth fairy?"

"Yes." She frowned a little. "But Mama says the tooth fairy only brings money. I don't want money."

"Well, what _do_ you want?"

"A bunny."

"A bunny?"

"Yeah! Mama and Auntie Randa took us to the zoo, and we saw lots of bunnies and we got to pet them and they were so cute and soft, Daddy, and I want one that I can name Fluffers and I want to pet him every day!"

He laughed. "Slow down, little fiend. Let's think about this a little. I don't think the tooth fairy can bring you a bunny because it wouldn't fit under your pillow."

She frowned. "Oh. Yeah."

"Plus, I'm not sure having a bunny would be a good idea with Riley. He might try to eat it."

"Oh. That's not very nice."

"Yeah, but he wouldn't know any better. It would just be instinct."

April's face scrunched up. "What's instinct?"

James was saved from answering when he heard Kiliane's voice.

"Something I'll explain later. Remember what I said? Daddy needs to go to bed, and so do you. Go brush your teeth."

"Okay, Mama." She waved at the camera. "Night night, Daddy."

"Night night, Fiend. Sleep tight."

She ran off, and he heard Kiliane say softly, "Andy, do you want to say hi to Daddy quick?"

His son's face was much more subdued when it popped up on his screen. Anderson had always been the quieter of the two, but James had noticed lately that he'd been even more so.

"Hi Daddy."

"Hey, Mouse. You holding down the fort for me?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

There were several seconds of silence before he said, "Daddy? Are you coming home soon?"

"Sure am. Just a few more days."

"Oh, okay. See you."

With that, Andy's face disappeared, and was replaced by Kiliane's.

"Sorry. He's been like that lately. Only says a few words at a time. I'm not sure what's bugging him."

"Hmm. I'll have a heart-to-heart with him when I get home."

His wife smiled as she said, "So, when do you think that'll be?"

"Should be early next week. I've got to go meet up with K, and then we've got to give our report to the Alliance and the Council. But then I'm on my way home."

"Good. We miss you."

And there it was again. That _feeling_. He knew that he couldn't keep ignoring it, but he just wasn't quite sure he was ready to face it-and what it might mean for his family.

* * *

><p><em>Two Weeks Later<em>

James stood in the corner of the park, watching his children run and play with their friends. Their golden retriever, Riley, was darting in and out while they all tried to grab at him. He caught Kiliane's eye where she stood talking with Miranda and Dr. Chakwas, and he winked at her. She smiled and went back to her conversation.

He'd been home for a little over a week, and he'd done a lot of thinking during that time, sharing some of his thoughts with her along the way. Afterwards, he'd realized how silly it had been for him to ever worry about what she'd think. Kiliane would always stand by him, not matter what he decided to do.

"So, I understand I have an appointment scheduled with you in the morning."

Hearing Admiral Hackett's voice next to him caused James to instinctually snap to attention.

"Uh, yes, Sir."

Hackett chuckled. "At ease, James. We're at a family function, I'm not your commanding officer right now."

"Right, sorry. Habbit."

"I know. When you live and breathe something for so long, it can be hard to shake it off."

James looked up at Hackett in surprise. It was almost like he'd been reading his thoughts. The older man just smiled before changing the subject.

"It sure turned out to be a beautiful day for the party."

"Uh..yeah. Yes, it did. Kiliane had to do most of the planning by herself, so I'm glad everything turned out."

They were celebrating the twins' fifth birthday. They'd rented out a park shelter on the lake, and invited all of the their friends from the Normandy, plus all the twins' friends from pre-school. He had to hand it to his wife. It was a lot to put together, but it had come together rather nicely.

He'd worried about her for a while after she had retired. She'd gone through a brief period where she hadn't known what to do with herself. James had been away on missions for extended periods of time, and she had become quiet and withdrawn. But then the twins had come, and she'd fallen into the role of mother quite naturally and happily.

Hackett interrupted his thoughts again, and again made James feel like he was reading his mind.

"If you think about it, her experience as a Spectre was good practice for all this. Planning missions, solving petty squabbles between the races, all of it."

James laughed. "I suppose that's one way to look at it."

"She was a soldier through and through. Lived it and breathed it since the day she turned eighteen. I suppose if she can make this transition, anyone can."

"Sir?"

"James, I'm fairly certain I know what you want to meet with me about tomorrow. So, why don't I make it easy for you. We're looking for an instructor at our Los Angeles facilities. That's only, what, forty-five minutes from here by shuttle? I think you'd be perfect for it, and I'd happily put your name forward as my top recommendation. It would give you much more time to be here, soaking up these moments while you can."

James felt relief wash over him as the knot that had been in his chest for the last few months slowly started to unravel. He missed his family so much that it hurt when he was away on missions, and it had only gotten worse as the twins got older, and he missed more and more of the big moments. Kiliane had sent him vids when they'd taken their first steps and said their first words.

He wanted to be here when they had their first day of school, went on their first dates, fell in love and had their hearts broken. He just hadn't been sure what he would do with himself outside of being a marine. It had been his lifeline when he'd first joined. But he realized he had a different lifeline now. Three of them, in fact. All wrapped around each other and around his heart.

James smiled at Hackett, shaking his hand.

"Thank you, Sir. I think I'd like that very much."

* * *

><p>Later that night, James was tucking the twins into bed. He leaned down and kissed each of their foreheads, breathing in their scent as he did.<p>

"Hey guys, I have a question for you."

"Okay, Daddy. What is it?"

April looked up at him solemnly with her mother's grey eyes, and the knot unraveled just a little more.

"What would you guys think if Daddy was home more? Like, almost every day?"

"Really?"

That came from Andy this time.

"Yeah, Mouse. Grandpa Steven offered me a teaching job, and that means I would get to stay here, and only go to work during the day."

Andy looked thoughtful, while April stated matter-of-factly, "I think it's an excellent idea, Daddy. You could tuck me every night. _And_ we could get a bunny because you would be able to stop Riley from eating him."

James laughed. "Well, we could think about it anyway." He turned towards his son. "What do you think, Mouse?"

"I would like that very much."

"Is that why you've been so sad lately? You missed me being around?"

The little boy nodded slowly.

"That's kind of what I thought. It was making me sad, too. But now neither one of us has to be sad any more, do we?"

"Nope."

"Good. All right. Time for lights out." He walked to the door and flipped the switch on the wall. "Night night, sleep tight."

Two little voices echoed the words back to him, and the knot finally unraveled completely, replaced by warmth and light as he joined his wife on the sofa and pulled her into his arms.


	3. Winners and Losers

_**I was having a crappy Monday, and in an attempt to cheer myself up, I did a thing involving fluffy plot bunnies (or is it a fluffy bunny plot?)**_

_**Anyways, have a silly little April & Andy drabble. Maybe it will help all of our Mondays.**_

"Daddy, I want this one! Come see."

April tugged on James' hand and pulled him over to a small cage on the far wall.

"Look at him, Daddy! Isn't he the cutest?"

James had lost, but he was fairly certain that the game had been rigged from the start. His daughter took after her mother in every possible way, and that included her love for furry creatures. His son had also inherited that particular trait, so when _someone_ got it in their head that they needed bunnies, he never really stood a chance. It was three against one in no time flat.

Then next time he talked to Kaidan they would have words about his wife. "Auntie 'Randa" was one of the smartest people he knew. So when she 'casually mentioned' that April should ask her daddy about having a bunny for a pet, she'd known _exactly_ what would happen. What was happening right now: James was standing in a pet store with two over-excited five-year-olds, looking at bunnies.

He looked down at the little, floppy-eared ball of grey fluff that April was pointing at, and said, "Yeah, Fiend, I think he's cute. Not as cute as you, but pretty darn cute."

"Can we take him home?"

"If he's really your favorite out of all of them."

He chuckled as she squealed and clapped her hands, and then he went looking for his son.

"How about you, Mouse, have you found one you like yet?"

Andy didn't reply, but James was fairly certain he had his answer when he found the young boy sitting silently in front of one of the cages, his fingers pressed through the holes and curling into the fur of a black and white spotted bunny. As he got a little closer, he realized that his son was speaking softly to the furry creature.

"Riley might seem scary, but I promise I'll protect you from him. Just like my mommy and daddy protected all the people from the scary monsters."

James was surprised at that statement. He and Kiliane hadn't really talked much about the war with the kids. Just in very general terms, and certainly nothing about the extent of their involvement. He really shouldn't have been surprised, though. Even eight years later, it was something that was talked about often, something that the galaxy was still recovering from. The twins were in pre-k now, so they were around a lot more people. And after their marriage, his name had become almost as recognizable as Kiliane's.

He knelt down next to Andy. "So, is this little guy coming home with us?"

Big brown eyes looked up at him, serious as he nodded at him. James constantly marveled at just how different his kids were. April was pure energy, impulsive and reckless, but even at five, her brain always seemed to be working all the angles. Anderson was much more subdued and serious, thoughtful and caring, but just as bright as his sister.

And he thanked his lucky stars for both of them every single day. Even if it meant he'd be spending all of his free time over the next couple of weeks building a play structure for two bunnies. Two bunnies that even he had to admit _were_ ridiculously cute.

And as they drove home, he looked at the huge smiles on his children's faces and realized he'd never been so happy about losing at something in his life.


	4. Happy Bithday

**This was written for the birthday of the amazing mynameiscloud over on tumblr. **

**Since Cloud was the one that initially gave me plot bunnies about bunnies, it's only fitting.**

* * *

><p>"Daddy?"<p>

"Yeah, little fiend?"

James looked up to find his six-year-old daughter's very serious face as she asked, "When is Fluffers' birthday?"

He blinked. "What?"

"We've had Fluffers for a long time and I think we missed his birthday."

"Well...I don't think we know exactly when it is. We don't know know when he was born."

"Oh."

He watched April's face fall, and he thought quickly. "But we _**do**_ know what day we brought him home with us. Maybe that could be his birthday."

"That's a good idea, Daddy! And then Fluffers and Peter can have the same birthday. I need to go tell Andy!" She started towards the door but then stopped and turned back around. "But what day is it?"

"Well, I'd have to look at the file to be sure, but I think it was last month sometime. We got them right after I started my new job."

"So we did miss it! We have to throw a party, Daddy."

"Um...I don't know about a _**party**_, but we can figure out something, okay?"

"Oh, okay. Can we get them cake and presents at least?"

"Something like that, maybe."

"Thank you, Daddy! I'm gonna go tell Andy."

As she ran out of the office, James found himself wondering what he'd just gotten himself into.

* * *

><p>Kiliane missed her family. She'd never been away from all of them at once for longer than a weekend. But when Wrex and Bakara had invited her to a ceremony to reveal the new Genophage Memorial on Tuchanka, she and James had decided that he would stay home with the twins. The krogan had made a lot of progress, but Tuchanka still wasn't a place she wanted her kids running around.<p>

The ceremony had been nice. Amongst many other things, they'd erected a statue of Mordin in honor of the sacrifice he'd made for them. She was immensely proud of the work Wrex had done, changing thinking that had lasted almost 1500 years-to the point where there was now a statue honoring a _**salarian**_ on Tuchanka.

Kiliane had been glad to be a part of it, but now she was very glad to be heading home to her family. She'd managed to catch an earlier transport than she'd originally planned and they didn't expect her until tomorrow. When she let herself in the front door, she was surprised to find a quiet house. Maybe they had gone out somewhere?

She made her way through the house, stopping when she saw the mess in the kitchen. What appeared to be the remains of several apples and carrots were scattered over the counter, as well as..._**birthday candles**_? She couldn't even begin to figure that one out. A sound from the backyard drew her attention and she started towards the patio door. As she got closer, she realized she could hear her children singing happy birthday. But to who?

When Kiliane peeked into the shed in the back, her heart melted as she took in the sight before her. Her children were each holding a cupcake wrapper filled with chopped apples and carrots, topped with a birthday candle. And they were singing to their rabbits. Her husband stood behind them holding two tiny little boxes with bows on them.

She stayed hidden while they fed the 'birthday cake' to Fluffers and Peter Rabbit, and then gave them their presents. Kiliane caught her husband's eye through the window, and he quietly slipped out while the twins played with their pets and their new toys.

"Hey, Lola. You're home early."

"Thought I'd surprise you. But it worked the other way around. I would never in a million years thought I'd come home to a rabbit birthday party."

James laughed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and planting a quick kiss on her lips.

"Well, what can I say? When the Shepard women give me their sad eyes, I can't say no. April felt bad because she missed their birthday. Which, by the way, we decided was the day we brought them home from the store." He shrugged. "She insisted on a celebration. I had to make do."

She looked over to where her children sat with their furry friends. Their huge smiles and laughter was exactly what she'd needed to come home to.

Smiling up at her husband, she said, "You did good."


End file.
